


You Belong With Me

by riverdale_imagines



Series: Reggie Mantle [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Love, Slow Burn, Song - Freeform, Taylor Swift - Freeform, You Belong with Me, lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 12:16:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17549531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riverdale_imagines/pseuds/riverdale_imagines
Summary: You have always been there for Reggie - stood up for him in the elementary school playground, tutored him in maths since you were both 10, was his very first kiss as he was yours. But will his popularity cloud his mind into choosing the wrong girl?Word Count: 3.8K





	You Belong With Me

**Author's Note:**

> This imagine was inspired by Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me"

_You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset_  
She’s going off about something that you said,  
‘Cause she doesn’t get your humor like I do.

> “Babe… babe! Come on, just please calm down and listen to me!” You heard Reggie beg in the adjacent room, his phone pressed firmly to his ear as he tried reasoning with his current girlfriend. All that you knew was that he was his typical self and spoke before thinking of what to say - apparently, not  _everybody_  knew that he didn’t have a filter. But  _you_  knew the jock more than anybody else, and he might need to stop and sort himself out every now and then, but everything comes from his heart… it’s bigger than people give him credit for. You were brought back to reality when you heard Reggie grunt, dropping phone phone against the table and running his hand through his hair. You peered up to him with saddened eyes, reaching out and placing your hand over his so gently, “Wanna talk about it, tough guy?” You asked him, watching as the corner of his lips twitched into a small smirk at the nickname you gave him.
> 
> You were both much younger than you are now, and Reggie’s head had yet grown into his big ears. Of course, with children unable to keep their thoughts to themselves, Reggie had his fair share of bullying and for a while carried around the name  _Dumbo the elephant_. You were a headstrong kid, having grown up with numerous brothers made you strong both mentally and physically, so seeing a small and defenseless Reggie tore your heart in two. You can still remember marching up to the older kids as they cornered him against a tree, your quiet and high pitched voice disrupting them from their mischievousness, “Hey, bullies! Leave him alone or I’ll make you!” Of course, they had just laughed in your face, exclaiming something alone the lines of ‘ _but you’re just a girl_ ’, however your scowl never faltered. You took a step forward and threw a punch right in one of their faces, their nose bleeding almost immediately. The older kids whined and ran away, leaving you and Reggie alone. You smiled before throwing down your hand to him, pulling him up from his cowered position. “You didn’t have to do that. If I let them bully me then they would have left me alone eventually.” He said, digging the toes of his shoes into the dirt as he looked down. You laughed at what he had to say, shaking your head, “Whatever you say,  ** _tough guy_**. But you’re also welcome.”
> 
> “I don’t think this is a situation you can save me from, Y/N. Not thistime.” Reggie manages to say, clearing his throat to help transition to a new conversation. He picked up his pen and nervously started tapping it against the bench top, his eyes now focused on the unanswered maths questions in front of him. You didn’t want to push it any further - knowing that if Reggie was comfortable enough, he would talk to you. Hell, he told you everything. Maybe it was because you two cliqued so well when you were younger, but then he had to suddenly hit puberty and grown into his ears. Reggie got undeniably hot undeniably fast, and popularity wasn’t far behind. With that being said, you were complacent being just who you are - however you did miss your friend before he became Riverdale High’s hottest jock third year running. You were about to ask him whether he’d like to take a break from maths and watch a movie, but the ringtone of his phone interjected instead, threatening you to keep your mouth closed for the time being. Reggie suddenly straightened before holding up the screen, a hopeful look shone from his eyes as his girlfriend’s name was projected in capital letters and an array of heart emojis. You rolled your eyes with a small smile and gestured for him to go take the call, swallowing your pride seconds after he left the room. You left his house not too long after, knowing that you probably won’t be seeing your childhood friend for at least another week when your next tutoring session was scheduled. Seemingly, it still managed to break your heart. 
> 
> You didn’t bother looking for Reggie when you walked through the school halls the next day, an inkling feeling in your stomach telling you that his arm would be draped around his spoilt girlfriend’s shoulders, her perfectly applied lipstick slightly smudged on his cheeks and lips from one of their morning make out sessions. It was obvious that she was using him for his popularity status, however he didn’t seem to care, let alone realize in the first place. You closed your locker before walking to your next class, reminiscing about the good ol’ days when Reggie would be beside you gushing about how he wants to try out for football. Of course, you told him to go for it because he had the right attitude and competitive drive for such sport. And then he would thank you and exclaim about how lucky he is to have such a supportive friend that believes in him. 
> 
> The memories make you smile to yourself as you entered your English class, preparing to pull your books from your bag before a piece of paper suddenly slammed on the wooden top of your desk. You jumped slightly but managed to exhale in relief when you noticed it was just Reggie, a widened smirk creeping on his lips. “Check  _that_  out.” He exclaimed, his pointer finger tapping by the large red numbers in the top corner of the page. You cocked an eyebrow as your eyes flicked between the paper and the jock’s joyous expression, “An 86. That’s great, Reg.” You said, handing him back his page. Reggie shook his head, a chuckle slipping through his now toothy grin. “Great? It’s brilliant, fantastic, _amazing_. This means that I don’t have to drop out of football anymore, my GPA is good again. I couldn’t have done it without you, Y/N.” For a small moment, you were sure that Reggie was about to cup your cheeks and kiss you, his hands open and ready as they hovered in front of your face, only for him to eventually pull back with a lightly reddened complexion. 
> 
> You cleared your throat and looked away from him as the rest of the classroom started to fill with students, trying to mask how uncomfortable you suddenly felt. Beside the odd couple of afternoons a week, this is the most interaction you’ve had with Reggie for a very long time. In all honesty, you were surprised that he hadn’t already moved on and to his own seat. You forced a thin smile before glancing back to him, “At least you don’t need my tutoring anymore, back to your own independent self.” You tried to lace your voice with positivity, however it came out pained, and Reggie happened to pick up on it. His face dropped as he started to move to his proclaimed seat in the back row of the room, turning on his heel just before he completely passed you, leaning down to your eye level, “Actually, you wanna go to Pop’s after school? Coach cancelled practice, and I have this craving for cheese fries. I’ll get you a milkshake, whatchya think?” To which you didn’t even hesitate before accepting his offer with a nod, “Uh, yeah. I’d like that.”

_Walkin’ the streets with you and your worn-out jeans,_  
I can’t help thinking this is how it ought to be.  
Laughing on a park bench, thinking to myself,  
Hey isn’t this easy.    


> You kicked some small stones from the footpath as you walked along, Reggie at your side. It felt foreign for you two to be together - but a strangely comfortable foreign, as if it’s how life should have been. He was trying to make small talk about the weather, which quickly turned to a funny story of how he fell on his face in the rain during last Friday’s football game. Your eyes were mesmerized by him as he threw his head back in a burst of laughter, his hands maneuvering in strange ways as he depicted how the event actually happened. You reciprocated his laugh whilst placing your hand on his bicep to steady yourself, small snorts following after. “I can’t believe you still do that.” Reggie said, his hand briefly sitting on top of yours to hold it against him. You raised your eyebrow in time with the corners of your mouth, your laughter subsiding to a small giggle, “Do what? You’ll have to elaborate, Mantle.” With his spare hand, Reggie lightly tapped the tip of your nose as he smiled at your obliviousness, “That cute little snort thing you do when you laugh too hard. I haven’t heard it since we watched Jughead walk into that glass door in middle school.” The memory provoked you to slap your hand onto your forehead as you laughed your iconic laugh once more, remembering poor Jughead’s shocked expression as he bounced back from the seemingly transparent door and the few seconds that followed where he stood frozen trying to understand what had just happened. “That’s definitely the sound of joy.” Reggie said as he glanced at you, only to have you playfully nudge him in his side. 
> 
> You both thanked Pop when he brought your fries and shakes out to you, Reggie even shooting you a wink when he reached over and took the cherry from your shake’s whipped cream. “Seriously, Reg?” You whined before attempting to do the same to him, only he swatted your hand away. You expressed a pout and secured your arms across your chest, however he decided to wiggle his eyebrows to amuse you, which he succeeded at. You didn’t expect to enjoy spending your time with Reggie as much as you did, and truth be told, neither did he - but two hours later and you both were still caught up in a web of stories and steady conversation, reliving the good ol’ inseparable days. As if on a poorly timed cue, the familiar and annoying tone of Reggie’s phone echoed throughout the diner, your jaw clenching as he pulled it from his pocket. You could tell via his facial features that he did not want to take the call, but he would have his head on a silver platter if he ignored it. “Hey Ginger.” He said hesitantly as you felt your eyes roll back in your head, thinking, ‘ _of course it was his damn girlfriend_ ’. 
> 
> You tried not to eavesdrop in their conversation, not because you didn’t want to be rude but rather because you didn’t care what was being said. From what you did hear was bits and pieces of Reggie explaining where he was, but trying to diverge from the fact he was with you, and that he was  _actually_  having a great time. From the gritting of his teeth and knotting of his eyebrows, you could tell that Reggie was frustrated with whatever his girlfriend had to say. It reminded you of the conversation they had the night before with Reggie trying to beg for answers and reasons as to  _why_  he was now in some sort of trouble. After he hung up the phone, you both sat in silence. He was suddenly too interested in his empty milkshake glass as he stared at it intently, you ducking your head down to gain his eye contact, smiling when you did. “You alright, tough guy?” You said softly before he stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I gotta go, Ginger needs me.” His eyes were apologetic but his clenched jaw expressed anger. Before you knew it, you were scoffing and rolling your eyes once more, grabbing your own bag and standing from your seat, “I don’t need your apologies, Reggie. I’m used to being your second, third… last choice. It doesn’t phase me much anymore.” You offered him a very small smile whilst pushing past him, leaving some money on Pop’s counter to pay for the items you both purchased. You didn’t want to make a scene as you retreated the diner, but something about the way you left a heartbroken and confused boy behind whilst you ran home with a broken heart of your own was  _very_  movie cliche. 

_Oh, I remember you drivin’ to my house in the middle of the night._  
I’m the one who makes you laugh,  
When you know you’re about to cry.

> The end of the week approached faster than expected, especially as you spent most of your time dodging Reggie in the school hallways and pretending that you didn’t receive his text messages. You needed time to gather yourself and sort your priorities, and having him suddenly want you back in his life again was too much of an unexpected turn of events. You’ve always had such a stupid crush on Reggie, but unlike the mass population of girls at Riverdale High, yours started when you both were young - when you just got rid of your braces and he started throwing a football for the first time. It was Friday night and you had just curled under your bed sheets, trying to make yourself comfortable as an upcoming storm started to brew outside. Your phone was constantly indicating that you had a new message, but it was only Reggie asking if you were going to the Football game tonight. Alike the other messages, you ignored it and continued your favorite program on Netflix. 
> 
> You started to zone out as you flashed back to when you both were fourteen years old, swinging on the old jungle gym in the park. You were telling Reggie how you overheard Betty talk about how she wanted to kiss Archie, and it made you wonder when you’d have your first kiss and who it would be with. Reggie looked at you with his big brown eyes and said so innocently, “I want my first kiss to be with someone I really trust, but the only person I trust the most is you.” And all you could do is look back to him with just as much innocence, turning the swing so that you completely faced him, “I trust you the most too. We could always just get it over and done with, you know? So we know what to do when we have to kiss other people”. You said, fingers fiddling in your lap as you failed to notice the growing smile on little Reggie’s face. It was only a second or two later before you both pressed your lips so hastily together, relaxing into each other. It was the perfect first kiss. 
> 
> It was midnight when your phone woke you up, realizing that you must’ve accidentally fallen asleep. You could barely hear your ringtone over the heaviness of the rain outside, but you still answered it nonetheless, surprised to hear a familiar and desperate voice on the other end of the line. “Y/N… I’m downstairs… I, something happened. I didn’t know where to go… I just drove and I ended up here… something in me had to see you. Let me in, please.” He sounded distressed, perhaps so that he had been crying. You crept your way down to your front door and gently opened it, suddenly coming face to face with a saturated Reggie Mantle. You held out your hand and dragged him inside, eyes scanning over his wet and shivering body. “Reg… you’re freezing, you’re gonna get sick.” You exclaimed as quietly as you could, not letting go of his hand as you guided him to your room. It had been some time since he last stepped foot inside your bedroom, a small smirk appearing on his face as he noticed that not a lot had changed. You gestured for him to stay still before grabbing a clean towel from the bathroom, rushing back in and closing the door before wrapping it around his shoulders. You sat on the end of your bed as he stood in front of you, looking as if he had something to say but couldn’t think of how to initiate the conversation. 
> 
> “Why are you here?” You finally said after a long period of silence, Reggie’s eyes diverting to the floor. He cleared his throat a couple of times before realizing that he was just holding out. “I saw Ginger with one of the Greendale High players. She was all over him. I… I asked her what the fuck was going on, she basically said I wasn’t good enough.  _Me_ , of all the fucking athletes of Riverdale High is apparently not  **good enough** for Cheryl Blossom’s right hand bitch. Can you believe it?” He said exasperated, his hands tugging at his wet locks as they stuck to his neck. You closed your eyes for a small moment as you took in this information, able to feel Reggie’s pain from where you were seated. But it wasn’t a new pain, it was as if it was the type that was finally released after being bottled up for too long.  _As if_  he knew it was coming and was holding out until the dreaded day. You pursed your lips and pushed yourself from your bed, standing directly in front of him before gently grasping his wrists and pulling them down between you both, your thumbs gently caressing the skin on his knuckles. “But why are you  _here_? At my house? You could’ve gone to Chuck, or Archie. Hell, even Cheryl would’ve done something about it…” You cooed, hoping that the tone of your voice would soothe him. 
> 
> Those eyes which you fell in love with as children were staring down to you, absorbing your details, your passion, your heart. They were kind and gentle, just as you had always known them to be. “Something drew me to you, as if I was meant to be here. You know?” He spoke so quietly that it was barely audible, but you could hear him clearly. You were fixated on him as you fell speechless, confused as to what he was trying to say - was it a confession of love, or some pity plea because you’d be the only one to care? You nodded your head to indicate that you understand what he was saying, feeling your own radiation toward him for a long time. “I really want to kiss you right now.” You whispered, matching the volume of his own confession. You lent up to rub you nose against his, knowing that he would happily oblige and allow you to plant one on him. But instead you shut your eyes and took a step back, gulping hard as you try to compose yourself. “I’m sorry about Ginger, Reg. You’re a great guy and you don’t deserve to have that happen to you.” You placed your hand on his bicep, reassuringly patting him. Silence filled the room once more, the awkward quietness recently becoming a regular occurrence for the both of you. 
> 
> By this time you were looking away from each other, your minds both trying to think of something to fill this void. It was difficult when all you wanted was to release your frustration and tell him that he should be with you, that you wanted to be his  _first_ choice; to have your hands tangled around his neck as they pull him close to you, your lips fused together as you both merged into one. Your back was turned to Reggie as your hands balled into fists, indicating that you were being driven crazy. You sucked in a deep breath as your head softly shook, pivoting on your heel to finally face him and relinquish what you need to confess. The second your eyes locked contact with his, he launched at you. His calloused fingers were cupping your face and his plump lips moving in sync with yours, tongues massaging in a harmonious rhythm, a relieving moan escaping you which only provoked him to reciprocate. It was both so familiar yet so fresh, it felt as if you had kissed each other a million times already and each time was as exciting and as new as the next. You didn’t even realize that small tears were threatening to spill from your closed eyelids as you both pulled back, Reggie’s now swollen lips forming a beautiful smile. 
> 
> Both of your eyes remained closed before Reggie sighed, “It feels just like the first time, just as perfect.” But when he opened his, they focused instantly on your tear stained cheek. “Y/N? I-I’m sorry. If it’s the kiss, something came over me. I-I couldn’t stop myself. Don’t cry, fuck, please I’m sorry.” Your head rocked to the side as you projected small shushing noises, hands flat on Reggie’s hard chest, tracing his pecs through his t-shirt. “I’m happy, _so_ happy, Reg, I promise. I really wanted to share that with you.” You lightly chuckled as the back of your hand wiped across the damp trail skin, expressing your fondness through your ever growing smile. Your body relaxed as Reggie’s thumb grazed over your bottom lip, his touch so much softer than what people would think. He was standing before you and it was simply angelic, just as you remember him to be when you both were little. Reggie moved his fingers from your face to tucking your hair behind your ear, still beaming from cheek to cheek, “You are really something else, Y/N. We haven’t been close for a while, and I can’t stop thinking about what you said at Pop’s… If I could change anything, it’d be that you were my first choice, I fucking swear on it. I got too in over my head with this whole High school popularity bullshit, that I didn’t see you… as the perfect person for me… it’s the biggest mistake I’ve made. I’m so sorry… so sorry…” Now it was Reggie’s turn to shed a tear, the pain in his voice so evident as he poured his heart and soul to you. His hands were gripping your shoulders so tight to remind you both that this, right now, is  **real**. You lent up on your toes to press a gentle kiss to his forehead, using the back of your hand again to wipe away tears that belong to him. “ _You belong with me, Reggie_.”

_Have you ever thought just maybe,  
You belong with me?_

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos or comments if you like this imagine!


End file.
